Take Me to The River New Orleans showcases some of the best moments from one of the world’s musically passionate cities
In the documentary Take Me to The River: Memphis, filmmaker Martin Shore envisioned the city’s music’s powerful nuggets through the lens of an already seasoned musician. Several years later, Shore visits yet another musically potent landmark on Take Me to The River: New Orleans (NOLA) exploring the Big Easy’s resilience
Sugaray Rayford genuinely preaches the blues along with plenty of hope on his upcoming release In Too Deep
Before receiving recognition on a national level, Sugaray Rayford already knew what his mission was – to invite all his audiences wherever the music would take them. The Texas born singer and entertainer has guided him as the front man for several bands, including The Mannish Boys who won The Best Traditional Blues Album in 2013.
Bryan Owens & The Deacons of Soul
Soul of Cash
(LIFE Arts Music)
A Record Reflection by A. Scott Galloway
The junction where R&B and Country Music intersect has been traversed by many artists from Charlie Rich, Lucinda Williams and The Rolling Stones going one way to Ray Charles, Esther Phillips and Gladys Knight & The Pips heading in the other. The fourth and latest project by singer Brian Owens & The Deacons of Soul is an intermittently successful yet tight 8-song CD, Songs of Cash, that finds the man and his band tippin’ their Stetsons to one of Country’s tallest figures, Johnny Cash.
Jeff Beck Roars into L.A. For Week of Classic Cars and Legacy Music
Event & Concert Reflections by A. Scott Galloway
On Monday night, August 8, `round about 6pm, English Blues-Rock guitar legend Jeff Beck hooked a right off Sunset into the parking lot of Mel’s Diner (location for George Lucas’ `50s nostalgia classic “American Graffiti”) in a 1932 Tudor to greet fans that had plunked down $500 in advance for a signed copy of his jaw-dropping new coffee table photo album/autobiography, “Beck01.” Heavy on pics (over 400 rare and unseen) with choicely edited 20,000 words of text, the tome is the ultimate big ticket souvenir for fans of Beck detailing his meteoric ascension in the world of rock guitar, his passion for classic cars and the colorful cavalcade of characters he has encountered along the way (from Albert Collins to Stevie Ray Vaughan). It was a casual yet exclusive burgers-n-beer kickoff event of two stellar evenings in Los Angeles that culminated in a star-studded commemorative “50 Years of Jeff Beck” concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday. Following this feting for what is only meticulous Genesis Publications’ 99th book since 1974, Beck roared back onto Sunset with two girls – one on the passenger seat, the other in her lap – into an intense Tuesday of rehearsals for the once in a lifetime gig.
Jeff Beck with 1932 Ford Tudor and his book, Beck01
Playboy Jazz Festival – Saturday June 13, 2015
Concert Reflection by A. Scott Galloway
Photos: Mathew Imaging
June gloom morphed into jazz-soul glory for Saturday June 13, 2015 – the first day of the 37th annual Playboy Jazz Festival – a day of great music that found the heat slowly and consistently escalating to the very end.
Honeys at Playboy
Leela James
Loving You More…In the Spirit of Etta James
(Shanachie)
By Peggy Oliver
When a potential artist navigates the journey to professional music glory, their friends and family probably told them at one point that they were born to be a star. Then there are others who hint that the aspiring talent reminds them of a specific music superstar. As Leela James was preparing to aim her sights towards greater musical heights, she already had an advantage over some of her counterparts. Her rich, blues-enriched voice drew comparisons since childhood to Etta James, an influential vocalist who garnered a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award and an induction to the Rock and Roll of Fame in 1993.
Various Artists | For Love of Liberty Soundtrack
by Peggy Oliver
Calvin Richardson | Facts of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack
by Terrill Hanna
There’s something unique that draws me to the voice of young Calvin Richardson. Could it be that one of his biggest strengths is his ability to ‘bring it’ vocally from the soul? Is it the choice that he made in striving to continue uplifting the spiritual aspect of Traditional R&B/Soul music for today’s listeners? Or is it how tasteful & polished some of his recent work has shined on us, how consistent he remains to be with it & a determination to keep it real by all those standards it requires?